Psychic Parasite

Chapter 190: Lava Turtle Vs Floating Spider
”Ouch!” Vishen Walta winced in pain, watching a pale blue psychic arm seep into him. In normal times, it was difficult for Warriors to detect a psychic arm. But, when Hruna Bone activated her Unranked Skill Regen, it turned her psychic arm pale blue, allowing everyone to see.

Usually, Vishen Walta used his aura to get a feel for the presence of any psychic arm. The aura was a phenomenon created due to his body exerting its presence. It was thanks to each cell in his body having surpassed normalcy.

Aura was a formless force, lacking any physical effect for most. The aura of every individual was different, even to the extent of calling each unique. The aura produced in his body was thanks to every cell in him exerting their presence at the same time, creating a unified whole.

Similarly, every living being had an aura, just that they weren’t pronounced to the extent normal beings can sense them. Though, once they begin their cultivation journey after ingesting a Wisdom or a Frenzy Parasite, their senses would become attuned to sensing them.

Now, here came an interesting phenomenon. When an individual unleashes his aura, it spreads into the surroundings. Every time it seeps through an object, its overall strength experiences a mild reduction.

This was later figured out as a cause of even non-living things possessing their own auras. That is why, when an external aura passes through them, they experience a form of resistance. This was why the aura Vishen Walta exerted couldn’t extend indefinitely. Even the very air around him had its own aura, due to each particle present in it. They resisted his aura on an atomic level, hacking away it to the extent it completely dissipated after a certain range.

If the invasive aura was enormous, it would annihilate the aura of any object it passes through, also imbuing in them physical damage. The same concept also implied to living beings. This was why Psychic Ancestor Marble managed to wipe out all Frenzy Beasts in a 200-kilometre radius of Marble City just by unleashing his aura.

The psychic arms of Espers—even if they were Line Controllers—possessed an aura of their own. Even if it was trace to the extent they couldn’t control or manipulate it, it allowed their psychic arms to be sensed by other parties as a result.

After becoming an Amplifier, Vishen Walta was able to unleash his aura, also controlling the volume and place of his body that emitted it freely. Now, when he unleashed it, he would be able to faintly sense the areas where his aura experienced differing amounts of resistance. Through practice, he had an inkling of the resistance offered by the psychic arms of Line Controllers and Area Controllers.

Though, he had yet to see if such a technique worked on Wave Controllers and beyond. He watched Hruna Bone’s psychic arm seep into him, bringing with it a cold sensation that eventually turned warm.

He felt the burning sensation abate like the tide. It was immediately replaced by an itch as new skin grew underneath, allowing the older burnt skin to completely fall off. Vishen Walta peeled them in response to the development of the new skin layer, marvelling at the magnificence of the Unranked Skill.

”At Tier 3, I’ll even be able to regenerate organs, bones, etc.” Hruna Bone smiled, her expression bordering on pride.

”I always wondered how you can coordinate to such a fine extent.” Vishen Walta gazed at her, expressing his doubts.

”You mean to say?” Hruna Bone shot him a confused look, unable to make sense of his statement given the lack of context.

”Consider my case here,” Vishen Walta pointed at a place in his arm where a piece of flesh had been gouged out. It was the place that faced the brunt of the boiling water attack, shouldering both the force and the heat.

”How do you know which muscle to regenerate, to what extent you have to regenerate them, where you have to connect the nerves, etc? You are not specialised in medicine yet.”

”I don’t know,” Hruna Bone smile, watching Vishen Walta almost spring up in alarm. She waved her hand, motioning for him to listen, ”Regen allocates for the lack of my knowledge. After I activate the Unranked Skill and seep my psychic arm into the place of injury, the effect of Regen uses the ability of my psychic arm to gain feedback to direct me through the spots I have to heal, the amount I have to heal, the shape, content, etc. So yes, I use the insight provided by the muscles in your body.”

”Once I learn the required knowledge, I will be able to heal faster and not waste time prodding around.” She nodded, watching the hole in his arm fill up, soon forming the skin. ”I’ll also be able to conserve more psychic energy. I’m almost running dry by healing just these surface-level wounds.”

Shimika Doppler walked towards them, whispering, ”The situation has changed, the Lava Turtles are attacking the Floating Spider territory. This might affect our plans.”

Vishen Walta clenched his fist, feeling the strength coursing through his arm. It was in no way inferior to his prior condition, making him conclude a certain point, ’Since she is using the inputs provided by my muscles, it means her healing effect also heals the flesh to the same level as my Nurtured state. No wonder I heard that it consumes a tremendous amount of psychic energy to heal beings at higher Tiers.’

He shared his insight with Hruna Bone, seeing her nod in response, confirming his speculation. Once he was fully healed, he stood up. Hruna Bone too followed suit, eating an energy biscuit to recover her psychic energy. Shimika Doppler commanded the rest to continue with their tasks as instructed.

She led the way; Vishen Walta and Hruna Bone followed her.

The trio made their way towards the swamp, stopping at a distance 30 metres from it. They heard intense rumbling sounds echoing off their south. They trod with caution, keeping an eye on the swamp lest a Lava Turtle crops up and shoots another attack at them.

Approaching the edge, they carefully peered towards the south, watching many mounds peak out of the swamp, the heads of the Lava Turtles gazing at the rock pillars before them. They positioned themselves 10 metres from the nearest line of rock pillars.

”Have most of the Lava Turtles spurred into action?” Hruna Bone murmured, gazing at the long line of Lava Turtles in the swamp, all facing the rock pillars. A faint rumble echoed off; mist seeped out the nostrils of almost all Lava Turtles in view.

The level of water in the swamp experienced a visible reduction, decreasing by almost a centimetre. Jets of boiling water, accompanied by steam were ejected from the mouths of each Lava Turtle, heading towards the rock pillars.

Three to four jets impacted each rock pillar, causing it to faintly tremble. The intense temperature and flow caused the soil to dissolve in the water. The jet attacks focused on the base of each rock pillar, softening it and grinding it off.

The rock pillars slowly began to destabilise, soon crumbling, the ensuing fall breaking them into numerous pieces.

The Lava Turtles destroyed one rock pillar after another, creating rumbling sounds that were akin to thunder. From beyond the affected rock pillars flew the Floating Spiders, hurriedly weaving webs, forming a perimeter 20 metres from the swamp.

Some Floating Spiders flew out, intending to attack the Lava Turtles. They easily dodged the water jets directed at them, making use of their agility in the air, and closing in on the Lava Turtles. When they neared, the Hunter Clams sprung forth, intercepting their attacks.

The Hunter Clams had tough shells that defended against the Floating Spiders. Also, when they suffered cracks in their shells, they hurriedly retreated, consuming the special fluid secreted within the shell of the Lava Turtles.

Within a few moments post-consumption, the cracks on their shells began to heal. Soon, the Hunter Clams rejoined the battle, creating an impasse, preventing the Floating Spiders from ever touching the Lava Turtles.

Neither side suffered any losses but the battle intensified. The Floating Spiders attacked in frenzy, forcing most of the Lava Turtles to go on the defensive. This in turn gave the Floating Spiders enough time to weave webs around the rock pillars, creating a barrier of sorts.

Since they were capable of flight, this barricade didn’t mean much to them. But for the Lava Turtles, it was a different matter altogether. Also, due to the extra layer of web coating the rock pillars, it negated most of the damage brought about by their boiling water.

Now, if they wanted to re-enact their earlier success, the Lava Turtles would have to spend a lot of time to slowly grind each rock pillar that now possessed enhanced defence.

”The Lava Turtles are also trying to destroy our goals.” Shimika Doppler pointed at the midst of the swamp, at a spot where many inverted cones hovered in the air.

”It is useless though,” Vishen Walta laughed, ”They were created by Madam Mila. Each Goal is a genuine Tier 5 Artifact; they aren’t something the likes of Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts can ever hope to damage.”

”The question remains,” Hruna Bone sighed, ”How will we reach there? The water in the swamp is boiling, not to mention its murkiness and the unknown depth. It is filled with Lava Turtles and Hunter Clams; so, swimming to our goal is impossible.”

”Our only option is their extermination,” Vishen Walta said, looking at pieces of the broken rock pillars, coming up with a feasible plan. ”We will have to rope in the others while on our way to my team.”